Non-profit Research

Did you know?

The nonprofit sector

• In 2006, there were over 1.9 million nonprofit organizations in the United States.
• There are approximately 1.4 million 501(c)(3) organizations, including hospitals, museums, private schools, religious congregations, orchestras, public television and radio stations, soup kitchens, and foundations.
• In 2004, the nonprofit sector accounted for 5.2 percent of GDP
• Total charitable giving reached $260.3 billion in 2005. In 2002, nearly seven out of ten households gave to charitable causes.
• Most nonprofits are small. More than 73 percent of reporting public charities reported annual expenses of less than $500,000 in 2004. Less than 4 percent of reporting public charities had expenses greater than $10 million.

Volunteering

• 44 percent of adults volunteer.
• 83.9 million American adults volunteer, representing the equivalent of over 9 million full-time employees at a value of $239 billion.
• The hourly value of volunteer time is $18.77 for 2006.

Giving

• 89 percent of households give.
• The average annual contribution for contributors is $1,620.
• Itemizing households give 37 percent more in contributions than nonitemizing households ($1,800 vs. $1,310);
• Itemizers give nearly two-thirds more to religion than nonitemizers;
• Homeowners who itemize their tax deductions give more than homeowners who do not itemize; and
• In every income group examined, itemizing households give at least 40 percent more than non-itemizing households.

Experience at work

• Forty-four percent of adults volunteer and two-thirds of these volunteers began volunteering their time when they were young.
• Adults who began volunteering as youth are twice as likely to volunteer as those who did not volunteer when they were younger.

Engaging youth

• High school volunteering recently reached the highest levels in the past 50 years.
• In every income and age group, those who volunteered as youth give and volunteer more than those who did not.
• Those who volunteered as youth and whose parents volunteered became the most generous adults in giving time

Faith and Philanthropy:

• Over 85 percent of religious-giving households support secular organizations;
• Fifty-two percent (52%) of all households give to both religious congregations and secular organizations, but those households account for 81 percent of all donations;
• Households that give to both types of institutions give more to religion ($1,391) compared to households that only give to religion ($1,154); and
• Fifty-five percent (55%) of dual-giving households give to at least two other kinds of organizations.

Keeping the trust

• 4% of Americans believe charities are honest and ethical in their use of funds.
• 71% of Americans expressed their continued support for charities responding to the September 11 terrorist attacks.
• Donors who have high confidence in charities give approximately 50% more annually than do donors who express low confidence ($1,796 average annual gift vs. $1,245).

Giving in tough economic times

• The most generous households, (those with incomes more than $75,000) decrease their giving by 33 percent from over $3,600 per household to less than $2,500.
• Households with incomes between $50,000 and $75,000 decrease their giving by 32 percent from $2,030 to $1,390.
• Households with incomes between $25,000 and $50,000 show a 45 percent decline in giving from $1,300 to $710.
• Households with incomes less than $25,000 decrease their giving by 23 percent from $560 to $430.